Well Thanks Hopefool
After reading this thread I finally plucked up the courage to start my own thread in great debates (never been one to do things by halves).
I’ve taken a little flack (my own fault) but it has not been as bad I thought it would be (not banned yet). So every one out their please take heart, you can make mistakes without it being the end of the world.
Hooray for newbies! I brought special Imaginary Welcome Cookies. Enjoy. 
As regards newbiedom and embarrassment here at the SDMB: I’ve been here… mmmm… Well, a buncha months - you do the math - and I’ve gotten a lot less obsessed about my posts than I was when I started. For one thing, I no longer care about killing threads; generally, if a thread dies, it’s because it was ready to die, not because of any one post.
Then there’s the matter of people being harder on newbies than established posters. That does sometimes happen; since people don’t really know you yet, all the attention is on what you say, not who you are. So if something comes out wrong, you might get jumped on. I was fortunate not to have made too many huge blunders when I started here (or if I did, they were forgiven), so I haven’t yet been beaten up.
The saving grace is that if you do screw up, most Dopers are understanding enough to accept an explanation and/or apology, so it shortly becomes water under the bridge.
Now, despite all of that, I’m still frequently embarrassed by the content of my posts, and the fact that anyone can read whatever sillyass thing I just wrote without thinking. I tend to post rashly, without previewing, which results in a lot of “wish I hadn’t said that!” moments. Since I usually post in extremely mundane (and pointless!) threads, it’s no big deal, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling dumb.
Though I don’t take myself all that seriously, so the idea of other people recognizing me for the goofball I am is only mildly perplexing.
Welcome to the boards, new people - thrilled to meet you, hope you enjoy your new addiction!
And you lurkers: Get posting! That’s what the boards are here for! 
Thing that embarrasses me the worst is that after I post on a thread it dies…
not particularly the SDMB but just about any MB.
Hold on Peter Griffin , I’ll save you. But will anyone save me ?
[Superhero voice] I’ll save you, enigmatic![/Superhero voice]
I can’t think of anything else witty to say, but I’ll save you.
CJ
:Starts drowning in a sea of mediocity:
(Rule of thumb for newbies: the best lines occur to you after you hit Submit Reply) :o
Here’s my newbie embarrassment: I posted a thread in MPSIMS about a Central NY Dopefest and no one replied. Boy did I feel like a moron. Sigh. Maybe there just aren’t too many Dopers in Central NY? Or maybe it’s me! Maybe I’m a newbie embarrassment!
Now watch me be the one to kill this thread:(
I can help splain that one.
DopeFests have been going on a long time, and often there are many threads about them active simultaneously.
There are definitely people in central NY, but the fewer posts you have (and the shorter time you’ve been on), the less people know who you are. People are less likely to want to go to a DopeFest if the person running it is unfamilar to them. But that’s certainly not an insurmountable obstacle, Rubystreak. Keep on posting, post your heart and your mind, and people here will respect you and will perhaps someday want to hang out with you at a DopeFest. So hang in there.
long time reader, but only sucked it up and registered / started posting very recently. my biggest fear as a newbie, and the fear which put me off joining in for so long was seeing how some(not all) posters react to bad grammar or spelling.
finally i decided screw it, those that will listen will listen those that dont, i wont let bother me or spoil what is largely great fun.
oooo…wouldn’t you like to know?
Heheheheheheheheheheh…
Siege–you were right…grrrrr…
Anyways, the true question is who’s going to end this. Probably me at this rate…sigh…SIEGE!!! I NEED YOU!!!
Sincerely,
A Damsel in Distress
:Rummages in closet for cape:
:Rummages in drawer for tights:
:Warms up Mighty Mouse voice:
Here I come to save the DAY!
:Looks at self in mirror:
Yep, I definitely need to change before work.
CJ
(Also a damsel, as it happens, but an equal opportunity one.)
:: mutter mutter… Under Siege … mutter mutter ::
Yay! A thread I can post on! Another lurker here, can’t imagine I’ll ever be ‘known’ here unless someone starts a ‘Lurkers United’ thread.
Ive already gone over my words per month quota, so I’ll go back to skulking
Just checkin’… Nope, not dead yet.
Welcome hopefool and the rest of you brave souls! It took me several months to delurk and as you can see by my post count I read better than I type. :dubious:
I’ll be back…